TRX Training

How To Get Ripped Using Your Own Body Weight

The first triad of ground exercises focused on the core via a set of TRX crunches (pull both knees into the body while suspended), a set of side crunches that targeted the obliques, and the beast, mountain climbers (alternate pulling of legs into the body). At this point I suffered flashbacks to high school wrestling practice and at the same time felt like I was going to vomit, mostly from dehydration and partly from fatigue.

Julissa ended the program not long after. I write “the program,” but each of her programs are different. TRX offers an instructor (and perhaps you at home — more on that later) a diverse menu of exercises that target different muscle groups and generally allow you to orchestrate an entirely different routine each time. I enjoyed the group dynamic, and Julissa said I “inspired” the others with my sweat-tastic performance.

It’s not imperative to take a TRX class to jump aboard, though. I spoke with Andrew Vontz, a certified TRX trainer and competitive cyclist who works for the official TRX outfit. He said that a class is an excellent way to rapidly get dialed in and have your form honed.

Vontz was first introduced to TRX several years ago when the man himself — former SEAL squadron commander Randy Hetrick — whooped Vontz on a Santa Monica beach to demonstrate that the TRX suspension training system is “a serious tool for a serious workout.”

“One thing I realised immediately is that it allowed me to train in a different way than I’d trained before,” Vontz said. “It works the body in all three planes of motion progressively, and also allows you to assess and regress the degree of resistance if need be.”

Which is something I certainly felt during the workout when I initially leaned way too deeply downward into a triceps press when my muscles were already burning.

“It doesn’t always have to be a horrifically challenging workout,” Vontz said. “You can challenge yourself but do what’s right on a given day."

That said, nearly everything works the core, which is punishing yet beautiful at the same time. I can’t understate how much every exercise forces you to find and maintain balance. Fail to balance your body — a task that puts constant, sweet strain on the core — and you’re toast. And assuming you have someone like Julissa whipping your behind, there’s little time to screw around, let alone catch your breath. I didn’t wear a heart rate monitor, but I estimate that I ranged from 145 to 155 beats per minute throughout — about the rate I usually achieve during a moderate run.

I, for one, welcome the system’s diversity. My own weightlifting regimen had become Totally Stale X-exercising, so much so that I had basically avoided lifting in favour of cardio for several weeks leading up to the TRX session.

And I paid for it dearly — my quads were so sore and my hips so stiff that I hobbled around for two days as if I were wearing a warm nappie. A humbling experience indeed.